Even though the woman named Morningstar had appeared before Lu Li in human form, Lu Li still guessed that she was likely an angel of some sort.
He had seen Seraph before, and Morningstar gave him almost the exact same impression—both were full of malice toward him, and both possessed a mysterious, indescribable aura.
According to the Holy Scripture's records of angels, they were supposed to be holy and sacred beings. Yet over the past few centuries of history, the role they played was entirely different.
Angels were the messengers of Heaven; they were supposed to be just, orderly, and benevolent. Yet historical records depicted them as tyrannical, chaotic, and cruel.
In them, Lu Li could not see even a shadow of the Lord—or rather, not a single trace of anything good.
And if Heaven was filled with such beings, he could not help but wonder whether the so-called Lord, that supreme and great existence, was likewise an utterly evil creature.
Thinking of how the Holy Court he led spouted righteousness and morality while worshiping such a being made a chill creep through his heart.
The scope of the explosion wasn't particularly large. By Lu Li's estimation, it had only affected his own room.
Almost the instant the roar subsided, a large unit of heavily armed knights swiftly converged on the office building. Only then did Lu Li realize that, without him noticing, he had been the only one left in the massive office building, while the outside had been turned into an ironclad defensive line.
“Your Holiness!”
Anthelia, who had rushed over upon hearing the explosion, breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Lu Li standing safely before the main entrance.
Her gaze fell upon the room whose brick walls had collapsed from the blast, a lingering dread taking root in her heart.
“Are you all right?” Anthelia stepped to Lu Li's side, shielding him behind her.
The surrounding knights also closed in layer upon layer, placing the two of them at the absolute center of their heavy protection.
“I'm fine.” Lu Li shook his head, then asked, “What on earth happened?”
“A Sacred Knight has betrayed the doctrines of the Holy Court,” Anthelia answered succinctly.
Hearing this, Lu Li realized that something catastrophic had occurred.
To the Holy State, every single Sacred Knight was a strategic weapon on par with a nuclear bomb. The impact and losses caused by the mutiny of such an existence were completely unfathomable.
Clearly, however, this incident was far more complex than just a Sacred Knight's betrayal.
“What else?” he asked again.
At his question, Anthelia's expression turned somewhat grim. She replied in a dry, strained voice, “A new weapon developed by the Logos Foundry was stolen. Just moments ago... it was used against you.”
This time, even Lu Li lost his composure.
Good grief, he had almost just died to a weapon developed by his own side.
“So that explosion was...?”
“Yes, Your Holiness. It's a new weapon crafted using red mercury as a raw material. A piece no larger than an ant can unleash a blast powerful enough to demolish an entire building.”
Anthelia's explanation made Lu Li's heart leap in terror. Almost instantly, he understood why something like Miracle power armor had appeared in such a backward era.
Because the so-called red mercury was likewise a fictitious creation that shouldn't exist in reality. Compared to the Sacred Knights, this stuff... was the true nuclear weapon of this world!
Actually, Lu Li had entertained the thought of “boiling water”—kickstarting an industrial revolution—in this world long ago. But whenever he remembered that supernatural forces existed here, and that technological development wasn't his strong suit anyway, he had abandoned the idea.
Yet now, learning of red mercury's existence, the urge to “boil water” suddenly became almost unstoppable.
Besides, if the professors at the Logos Foundry could turn red mercury into a weapon and create power armor capable of moving freely, then simply boiling water ought to be child's play for them, right?
Lu Li seemed completely immersed in his fantasy of changing the world, putting the immediate crisis out of his mind.
Then again, when he thought about it carefully, whether a Sacred Knight had betrayed them or a new weapon had been stolen from the Logos Foundry had little to do with him directly. The only reason he was at the center of this storm was that those people wanted to kill him—that was all.
Yet he was just a delicate Pope. What could he possibly do?
He couldn't do anything. All he could do was stand in the center, protected by everyone, quietly waiting for everything to draw to a close.
Meanwhile, at the Secretariat of the Holy Court.
Cardinal Julia listened with a dark expression as her subordinates reported piece after piece of intelligence. Ever since the leakage of the new weapon was discovered, she had ordered a total lockdown of the entire Holy City. Yet the immediate mutiny of Sacred Knight Wendelina had caught her completely off guard.
She was especially flustered upon learning that Wendelina had equipped a Holy Relic armament and was heading straight toward Saint Clement Academy.
“What about the other Sacred Knights?” Julia demanded.
The knight who brought the news did not dare delay, hastily providing more detailed information: “Lady Wendelina destroyed the gate to the Underground Sanctuary after taking the Holy Relic...”
Holy Relics needed to be stored at low temperatures, and the Underground Sanctuary was the warehouse used by the Holy Court to house them. Almost all Holy Relics were stored there.
The existence of the Underground Sanctuary was originally intended to prevent Holy Relic Knights from rebelling. Yet now, not only had Wendelina retrieved a Holy Relic from the sanctuary, but she had also destroyed its entrance, turning the facility's security into an obstacle for everyone else.
In the short term, the Holy Court could forget about retrieving any more Holy Relics from the sanctuary. This instantly shattered Julia's plan to deploy the remaining Sacred Knights to suppress Wendelina's rebellion.
As fellow Sacred Knights, without Holy Relic armaments, there was no way they could stop Wendelina.
Julia's temper gradually flared, but she forced herself to calm down, desperately thinking of a countermeasure.
There must be another way. There has to be another way!
She had never worried about the safety of the Holy City. From beginning to end, she cared about only one person.
If the Holy City was destroyed, it could be rebuilt. But if that boy died... she didn't dare imagine what she might do.
Julia unconsciously looked out the window in the direction of the Logos Foundry.
In a flash of inspiration, the only solution struck her.
“Go to the Logos Foundry and bring that Holy Relic to Amore!”
Julia gave the command, but immediately revoked it. “Forget it, I'll go myself!”
She snatched her red robe hanging over the back of an oak chair, draped it over herself, and strode out of the Secretariat.
Items like Holy Relics could not be carried around for extended periods, which was why most were stored in the sanctuary.
However, there was one exception—a Holy Relic still kept in the underground cold storage of the Logos Foundry.
It was the Holy Relic armament personally modified by Mekal and tested by Amore not long ago—“Sariel”!
Julia had witnessed the astonishing power unleashed by the modified “Sariel.” Equipped with such a Holy Relic armament, Amore might actually stand a chance against a Sacred Knight.
Rate on N.U.
